by Lynda Rose, Voice for Justice UK (Image: Pixabay)
It’s now been revealed that the recent cyber-attack on Jaguar Land Rover was carried out by a hostile state power. The identity of the hostile state has not been revealed so, at this point, it’s a case of take your pick. It’s strongly tipped to have been Russia, but it could equally well have been China or Iran. Whatever, the revelation is hardly a surprise. The real question, however, is not so much who was behind this particular attack, but how many of our recent crises are also a result of targeted hostile action. In September, for instance, we saw flight chaos after air traffic control systems were hit for the second time in two weeks by a ‘technical problem’. Then only a week ago, UK banks and public sector websites were plunged into turmoil as result of what was described by Google as a ‘cloud outage’.
Similar incidents seem to have been occurring recently with what can only be described as monotonous regularity. So are they just pure coincidence – resulting from our increased dependence on technology, which is becoming overloaded? Or are they deliberate and targeted aggression, signalling the beginnings of war?
In recent days, the government has been encouraging everyone to stockpile three days’ worth of food and bottled water for use in a crisis resulting from cyberattack. We are also being encouraged to keep cash in the house, should our access to credit cards and online banking be blocked. And, perhaps most alarming of all, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has warned that Britain must be ready for war in 1,000 days.
Will three days’ worth of food really be enough to get us through possible invasion and physical attack? And in that eventuality, if the banks and internet are ‘taken out’, what’s a realistic expectation of their restoration? In fact, will they be restored, or will they, along with our energy infrastructure and supply chain, be rendered useless, so that all that can be done is hang out the bunting to welcome our conquerors?
That the Government – so blandly reassuring in its promises to reform the welfare system and increase housing etc, etc – is now being so overt in its call for the nation to prepare suggests that the threat level has moved far beyond the realm of possibility – or even probability. It suggests in fact that Ministers of State, and those charged with responsibility for the welfare of the nation, know far more than they are letting on, and that the situation is not good.
Which brings us back to the initial question. Are the IT failures, that at different times have brought our health service, banks, government offices and businesses to an embarrassing stop, actually evidence that the war has already begun? And if that is so – as one suspects it is – why is the government not doing more to build up and equip our armed forces, instead of pouring yet more money into increasing benefits and raising wages? Why, in the Budget yesterday, was there absolutely no mention of defence?
However you look at this, the Government appears less than honest. And the question is, why?